The Editorial Team |

Pompeo Blasts Obama-era Mideast Policy as Flawed and Timid

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Secretary of State Michael Pompeo accused the Obama administration of underestimating the threat posed by Islamic extremism and Iran, delivering a speech in Cairo sharply criticizing President Donald Trump’s predecessor and declaring the U.S. a “force for good” in the region. Pompeo, speaking to an audience at the American University of Cairo on Thursday, said the Arab world must do more in the fight against extremism, reiterated U.S. support for Israel and…

Barrick CEO to Forge Ahead in Latin America Despite Past Strains

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Barrick Gold Corp.’s new boss intends to push ahead with plans to increase investment in the mineral-rich — but environmentally tricky — deposits straddling the Chile-Argentina border. “If you want to find elephants, go to elephant country,” Chief Executive Officer Mark Bristow, a South African geologist and big-game hunter, said in a phone interview. The Toronto-based company “absolutely” intends to invest more money in the El Indio copper-and gold belt,…

China’s Digital Silk Road Is Looking More Like an Iron Curtain

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The first billboard that greets passengers arriving at the airport in Lusaka, before Pepsi’s “Welcome to Zambia,” is an advertisement for Bank of China. Nearby, a Chinese company is building a sleek terminal. On the road into the capital city, near the office of Chinese telecom company ZTE Corp., another billboard features surveillance cameras made by Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co. At the national data center built by Huawei Technologies Co., a Chinese man…

Egypt’s Inflation Stays on Target After Monthly Price Plunge

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CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) = Egypt’s inflation stayed within the central bank’s target range for a second month after the biggest monthly decline in at least over a decade. Consumer prices in urban parts of Egypt slipped 3.4 percent in December from November, according to data released Thursday by the state statistics agency, CAPMAS. The annual rate slowed to 12 percent in December, compared with 15.7 percent the previous month and below the ceiling of the central bank’s goal…

Madagascar Court Declares Rajoelina Winner of Presidential Vote

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Madagascar’s Constitutional Court declared Andry Rajoelina the winner of last month’s runoff presidential election his rival says was rigged. Rajoelina, who previously served as president from 2009 to 2014, obtained 55.7 percent of the vote, compared with 44.3 percent for Marc Ravalomanana, Jean-Eric Rakotoarisoa, the president of the court, told reporters Tuesday in the capital, Antananarivo. Rajoelina will be sworn in later this month, he said. The announcement is based on results…

Fracture in Kenyan Ruling Party May Revive Rift Valley Tensions

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NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – An alliance that helped deliver Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta two terms in office is fracturing, reviving tensions in the country’s Rift Valley region that was wracked by widespread violence a decade ago. The deputy chairman of the ruling Jubilee Party stepped down on Sunday after saying Deputy President William Ruto shouldn’t be allowed to succeed Kenyatta. That undermines an arrangement in which Ruto delivered the backing of his Rift Valley constituents for Kenyatta’s…

Nedbank Sees Short-Term Rally, Longer-Term Pain for Rand in 2019

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – The rand’s wild ride isn’t over, according to Nedbank analysts Reezwana Sumad and Walter de Wet. A slowdown in global growth, an escalation in the trade war, an uncertain Brexit and higher global interest rates are just some of the risks the currency will face this year. Nedbank base case sees rand in range of 14-15 per dollar in 2019 From a technical perspective, the USDZAR could rally toward 13 in the…

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